


And They Were Roommates

by Harlando



Category: The Bright Sessions (Podcast), The Infinite Noise - Lauren Shippen
Genre: M/M, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21587860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harlando/pseuds/Harlando
Summary: Adam and Caleb go to the same boarding school. Due to an increase in fights the boys suddenly find themselves rooming with their least favorite classmates, each other.
Relationships: Adam Hayes/Caleb Michaels
Comments: 16
Kudos: 47





	1. Announcement

Adam

“Did you see this?” Moses says as he hands Adam the flyer.

ATTENTION:

Due to recent incidents, your RA will be handing out new room assignments tonight. Moving day is Sunday. Please have your space cleaned in advance.

“Another fight?” Who was it this time?” Adam asked.

“Caleb and Tyler, again.” Moses says with an eye roll. Of course. Those two were toxic. Caleb got in a fight at least once a week since they returned from summer break. In a normal school he would have been expelled.

“This only gives us two days notice to clean up and move.” Adam says while looking around their shared room. Moses and Adam had managed to stay roommates for the last two years. Now because of a few neanderthals posing as students, they were forced to separate. All he hoped at this moment was that he wasn’t forced to live with a meathead.

****  
Caleb

Just ten more minutes Caleb thought. Ten more minutes of Macbeth and then I’ll pack.

Henry’s side of the room was already packed up and clean thanks to the JV players he paid to do it. Caleb hadn’t packed anything even though it was already Saturday afternoon. Caleb had a math test the day before and a Macbeth presentation due Monday, neither he could not afford to fail. His study time was already limited due to football practice after class and therapy with Dr. Bright twice a week, he wasn’t going to let packing interfere too.

Thursday their RA Ryan went by and gave everyone a new room number. Caleb was moving to 4A. He didn’t know who he was bunking with, he couldn’t focus long enough to ask when Ryan talked to him and Henry. Stress orange and black sludge disappointment choking him. It crept down the hall and poured into the room. And this was after his session with Dr. Bright.

It had been three weeks since he started seeing Dr. Bright and learned he was an empath. He was getting better at identifying emotions when he was one-on-one, but living on a floor with 20 teenage boys overwhelmed him. His body constantly felt invaded, colors swirling. Sometimes a blue fog would creep out from under one of the doors down the end of the hall. He didn’t know what that was about, but he avoided that end of the hall whenever he saw it. Right now, he just hoped he didn’t have to move in with whoever made that fog.


	2. Moving Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam and Caleb find out they're roommates.

Adam

"Out of the way!" Tyler yelled as he pushed past Adam, forcing him against the wall. It wasn't like everyone was in the hall at the exact same time for this ridiculous move. 

Adam froze, trying not to drop his box filled with his belongings. He watch Tyler walk down the hall, holding his breath until he saw him go into 4F. That makes one bully Adam wasn't stuck with as a roommate. Adam started down the hall again, walking past Moses and Ricky unpacking. They were paired up to live in 4D. As far as football players go, Ricky was more laid back. He never picked on Moses or Adam. This pairing gave Adam hope that whoever did the room assignments did some research first and not just draw names out of a hat. He still didn't know who was his new roommate. Adam made it the rest of the way down the hall without incident. He opened the door to his new room, and it was empty. He double checked that the door matched his note. Both said 4A. 

No way he lucked out with a room to himself. There were two dressers, two desks, and two stripped beds. Both closets were empty. Where was his roommate?

  
  


*****

Caleb

  
  


Bzzz. Bzzz.

Caleb silenced his phone. The 3pm alarm he set went off. Hopefully by now most people were settled into their new rooms. He stretched and got up from the table. Caleb had been hiding in the library, trying to work on his Macbeth presentation. 

When he woke up this morning he was blinded by orange stress. Moving day is always tough, but having one in the middle of the semester with only two days notice made it a nightmare. Caleb predicted it would be bad and decided to pack and clean his side of his old room the night before. This morning he grabbed all his stuff and stashed it behind the stairs on his way to the library. 

Caleb made his way back across campus, grabbing his stuff before climbing the stairs. He must have won the lottery by getting a corner room. Maybe, just maybe, he won't be constantly overwhelmed by everyone's emotions if he's not in the middle of the hall.

Caleb opens the door to 4A, and is immediately hit with a wave of blue. 

Adam Hayes is sitting at one of the desks reading a book. He's already unpacked. Bed made. books perfectly stacked on his desk. 

"Hey."

Adam looks up. As soon as their eyes meet Caleb feels like he's been shocked. Panic has gripped his body and he just wants to run from the room, but his feet are stuck to the floor.

  
  



	3. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys first interaction as roommates goes south and Caleb goes to therapy.

Adam

Oh. My. God. 

Caleb Michaels is standing just inside the door with a large duffle bag over his shoulder. 

"Umm." Caleb starts, "I guess we're roomies."

Caleb walks in and drops his bag on the empty bed and starts unpacking.

Adam stares, completely dumbfounded. What awful thing did he do in his life to deserve THIS? He's now living with Caleb.

Caleb, who has been getting into fights every week. Caleb, who barely makes high enough grades to play football. Caleb, who is … beautiful.

Caleb moves around the room, putting away all his clothes and getting ready to make the bed. Adam finally finds his voice.

"Where have you been all day?"

"Oh!" Caleb whips around, surprise on his face. "I was in the library."

"You? Know where the library is?" Adam snarks.

Caleb rolls his eyes "No, I got lost on the way to the cafeteria. Just because I play football doesn't mean I'm an idiot." He looks at his watch. "I have to go."

Caleb walks out, half of his bag still packed.

Adam takes a deep breath. Could he have gotten a worse roommate? Although with Caleb's reputation… Adam is lucky it didn't end in a fight. 

Adam's crush on Caleb started three years ago. Back then Caleb smiled easy and was friendly to everyone. Only this semester did he start getting into flights all the time. He rarely seems him around campus anymore. Adam wonders what changed.

*****

Caleb

"And that's when I left." Caleb tells Dr. Bright. He just finished telling her about his new roommate, and how close he was to losing it. Why did he have to be roommates with Adam Hayes? His feelings are always so big. They force their way into Caleb, squeezing out everyone else's feelings and overwhelm him.

"Well, walking away when you feel overwhelmed is a way to avoid more fights," says Dr. Bright. "But you need to learn to balance all the emotions so they don't control you. Let's work on some meditation".

Caleb sinks into Dr. Bright's soft yellow calm, closing his eyes.

  
  



	4. What's that smell?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb needs a shower.

Caleb

The next week is a blur of black sludge, blood red, traffic cone orange, and endless blue. Caleb predictably panicked during his Macbeth presentation. He made it through by focusing on Adam's emotions. His blue somehow an anchor instead of drowning him. Then sat in awe of Adam's presentation. His excitement like bubbles popping on Caleb's skin.

In the locker room before practice a few days later the team talks about the room change while gearing up. Most everyone is surprisingly pleased with the results. Ryan asks Caleb how it's going with Adam. Bryce overhears and decides to interject.

"Caleb is stuck with the queer boy?" Bryce shouts while making a rude hand gesture.

Caleb sees red. Ryan snaps "Dude! That is beyond uncool! Can you go a day without being a pig?"

Caleb takes deep slow breaths and counts to 10. Ryan gets the rest of the team out to the field and tells Caleb to take his time, Bryce isn't worth another fight, isn't worth expulsion. After practice he doesn't even go into the locker room, he's still too pissed at Bryce. Instead he marches back to the dorm, taking his pads off as he walks. 

  
  


****

Adam

The door flies open. Caleb marches into the room still in his practice uniform and holding his gear. The smell soon wafts over.

"No!" Shouts Adam. "Pads stay out! No way you're making our room smell like a gas station bathroom!"

Caleb looks Adam dead in the eye with a scowl. He leaves for a moment and Adam hears something falling down the stairs. Caleb comes back in, grabs his towel and shower bag, and heads to the bathroom to clean up.

Adam releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. He turns back to his calculus homework. He gets halfway through the questions when the door opens again, softer than before. Adam heard bare feet on the floor and looks up to see Caleb with only a towel around his waist, digging through his dresser for clean clothes.

Adam's heart jumps into his throat as butterflies take over his stomach and he quickly turns back to his homework. No way is he going to be a perv and check out his roommate. He hears Caleb fumble but refuses to look. Adam just keeps working the math problem.

"Hey, umm" Caleb pauses to clear his throat. "Sorry about the smell before."

Adam turns back and Caleb is dressed (thankfully?). "Oh, well thanks for not turning our room into foot fungus central. Did you… did you throw your gear down the stairs?"

"Throw? No. More like drop with momentum." Caleb smiles. Adam melts a little and watches a blush start warm Caleb's cheeks.

"Don't you usually clean up in the locker room after practice?"

"Bryce was being a fucking dick."

"That's nothing new. So... why?"

"I don't know if you've noticed but I have some… anger… issues." Caleb's face darkens. The scowl is back. "I just couldn't be around Bryce any longer without…" Caleb focuses back to Adam, scowl gone and his eyes now open and pleading. "I don't actually want to hurt anyone. I want you to know that. Bryce was feeling - it was like he was looking for a fight. I just had to get - get away."

Adam is taken aback by the sudden intensity. "I believe you." It's the most Caleb has said to him, ever. There was something odd about it, but he ignored whatever it was, wanting to keep Caleb talking. Keep the conversation going. "Well the cafeteria is about to open for dinner. Do you want to head over? I think it's pizza tonight."

Caleb perks up at the mention of food, his stomach growling loud enough for them both to hear.

"Sure." Caleb smiles. "Let's get pizza and you can tell me more about Macbeth. Something tells me that you were leaving something out of your presentation."

Now it's Adam's turn to blush. 

  
  


****

Caleb

Caleb wakes up before dawn to go on his usual run before class. As he opens the door, he notices a rainbow sock left on the door knob. Anger threatens to take over as Caleb grabs the sock and shoves it in his pocket. Fuck Bryce and his bullying. Thankfully Adam didn't see it. Adam gets sad enough even when he's not being bullied.

As Caleb runs farther from the dorms and around closer to the woods that border campus, he feels all the excess emotions leave his body. Since his ability started getting actual alone time has been near impossible. Meditation with Dr. Bright helps, but it's so boring to do by himself. So he runs instead, to clear his head and his body, early enough that most people are still asleep. 

His thoughts drift to Adam and the past week. Before he thought Henry was the ideal roommate, mostly because he was rarely there. Henry was a slimeball when he was around though. His emotions slicing into Caleb and setting his teeth on edge. Now he's grateful that Adam is his roommate. Yeah, he's almost always in the room. (Does he not have any friends?) But his blue ocean of emotions is calming. Adam's emotions are so big they clear out all baggage Caleb ends up carrying around from class. Adam creates a safe cocoon around their room. 

  
  


Caleb had told Dr. Bright before they moved about how Adam's emotions overwhelm him, like a wave that's too big. And in his last session he expressed his worry about sharing a room with Adam, that he would just feel like he was drowning all the time. But Dr. Bright was right, all I needed was to give it a chance. 

Now that he was thinking about Adam, he was itching to get back to their room. Is it wrong that he liked Adam's emotions so much? That he felt grounded and more like himself around Adam? His emotions just fit right in his chest and created a pleasant squirming in his stomach. He's not quite sure what that's about, yet. But he plans on figuring it out.


	5. Ground Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam makes rules for the room and Caleb studies.

Adam

"We should establish ground rules." Adam says.

"We need more than don't stink up the room?" Caleb asks, eyebrows raised.

They are back in their room after dinner. Neither quite in the mood for homework, but still not sure how to hang out just the two of them.

"Yes. Such as, you can borrow my books and stuff as long as you return it in the same condition."

"Okay" Caleb smiles. "Same goes with my Xbox."

"Sunday is my study day. So use your headphones if you're going to play music or Xbox or whatever." Adam continues.

"That's easy."

"Umm." Adam starts, not sure where he's going, just wanting to keep the breezy mood. "24 hours notice before bringing a date over?"

"That's more considerate than Henry ever was." Caleb starts to scowl.

"Hey, I'm not going to do anything Henry did. Let's be clear on that." Adam rushes to say, not wanting to trigger Caleb's anger. "I have no plans to date anyone anytime soon, so it's not a problem for me, okay?"

"Yeah… okay. Same goes for me." Caleb looks up at Adam. The sudden eye contact send butterflies into overdrive in Adam's stomach. A blush starts to bloom in Caleb's cheeks.

"Really?" Surprise coloring Adam's voice. "There are a few girls in my AP Calc class that would be disappointed to hear that." The butterfly swarm growing.

"Dating just isn't my thing right now. I'm sure they'll get over it if I don't get my-" Caleb starts clenching his fists. "If I don't stop getting into fights." 

"Why do you get into fights?" Adam asks.

"I can't help it sometimes. It hurts and I lose track of-" Caleb bites at the words, his knuckles turning white.

"Track of what?"

"It doesn't matter. You wouldn't get it." Caleb sighs. "Do you wanna play something on Xbox?"

"Okay." Adam agrees. He’s pretty sure Caleb is hiding something. But if Caleb’s not ready to talk about it then Adam doesn’t want to push it. At least not yet.

  
  


****

Caleb

Sunday rolls around and true to Adam’s word, he studies almost the whole day. The ever present pool of sadness around Adam has a focused edge to it, making Caleb itch to get his own homework done. 

Caleb has his math textbook out, notes spread out in front of him. His latest test with a red 56 poking out from the stack. He feels his skin prickle, curiosity, and looks over his shoulder. Adam has stood to stretch and is looking over at Caleb. 

Caleb takes off his noise canceling headphones. “What’s up?”

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’m just surprised that you’ve been here all day.” Adam walks over to Caleb’s desk. “What are you working on?” 

Caleb rolls his eyes, “Math, my favorite.” Adam looks over the desk. Caleb feels surprise and confusion coming from Adam and settle in his chest. “What?”

"Your answers." Adam picks up the workbook and the test.

"What about them?"

"You got everything in the workbook correct." Adam is flipping through the pages. "But your test is terrible."

"Don't remind me." 

"What happened during your test? It looks tortured!"

Caleb can't answer right away. He remembers feeling everyone's anxiety vibrating in his body. He could barely hold his pencil steady. "Ummm. I guess I just don't test well."

Adam is staring at him. "You're smart!?" Caleb feels surprise mix with the squirming. It's almost like bees, but more pleasant. Is it Adam's?

"Just because I play football doesn't mean I'm an idiot." 

"Are you like this in all your classes?" Adam starts looking through the rest of Caleb's papers.

"Hey! What's your deal? Do we need a no snooping rule now?"

"Caleb." A swarm fills his whole chest. Excitement goes off like pop rocks on his tongue. "I can help you!"

"What do you mean?"

"If the only thing holding you back is testing anxiety or whatever, I can definitely help you."

"You'd do that?" Adam nods. "For me?" Adam keeps nodding.

"Yeah. Okay. Let's give it a try." Caleb smiles.

  
  



	6. Ice Cream Social

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb helps out at the ice cream social

Adam

"Yeah. Okay. Let's give it a try." A smile spreads across Caleb's face, sending butterflies into Adam's stomach. Caleb's eyes move towards the door, and the butterflies start to wilt. 

Knock. Knock.

"It's open!" Caleb calls.

"Hey Caleb!" Ryan walks in, leaving the door open. Voices echo down the hall as a group of guys in lettermen jackets walk by. "Don't forget we've got to be in front of the girls dorm in an hour for the ice cream social."

"I'm on it." Caleb's eyes dart to the hall. "Can you make sure Henry doesn't bring any 'special toppings' this year?"

"Yeah, good call." Ryan sighs and leaves.

“Special toppings?” Adam asks, confused by the whole exchange. Something is off and he can’t put his finger on it.

“Henry likes to bring his own ingredients. Sometimes it’s a harmless prank, but sometimes...” Caleb explains (without actually explaining) while putting on his shoes. “I have to get going. See you at the social!” Caleb rushes out the door.

“I thought Ryan said it wasn’t for another hour?” Adam calls, but Caleb is already gone.

Adam is left standing in the middle of the room, alone, still holding Caleb’s papers. What the fuck? Where is Caleb going an hour before the social? Did he somehow know that Ryan was at the door before he knocked?

Is Caleb expecting to see Adam at the social? The question both excites and terrifying Adam. Normally Adam avoids any optional interactions with his would be harassers outside of class. The ice cream social is hosted by the athletics department every year, and to Adam it just looks like an excuse for ogling cheerleaders. That should make it a hard pass for Adam. But he wouldn’t want to let Caleb down if he’s expected…

  
  


****

Caleb

Caleb tried to hold on to the calm after his therapy session with Dr. Bright as he walked over to the girls dorm. He went into his session worked up over Henry's feelings, a combination of steel determination in his bones and styrofoam squeaking against his teeth that usually meant he was up to something vile. Caleb didn't want anyone else to get hurt, but so far he hasn't had much success controlling all the emotions long enough to get Henry to stop. Dr. Bright spent most of their session on calming exercises and meditation. He didn't even get a chance to talk about Adam.

Adam. Warm soft fluttering started filling his chest as his thoughts wandered. Adam is by far the best roommate he's had at school. Sure, his feelings are overwhelming sometimes, but they block out the rest of the hall. His soft blue somehow filtering the world so it was just the two of them. Being one on one with a person was a lot easier than being in a crowd. 

Caleb hoped Adam would come to the ice cream social. That thought made Caleb pick up the pace as he walked across campus, slowing down only when he could see the rest of the team. 

The cheerleaders and football players were still setting up the ice cream bar. It was their job to serve the ice cream and toppings. Caleb walked up to Ryan, “Where do you want me?”

Ryan hands him an ice cream scoop and waves to the first table, “Pick a flavor and pass out scoops.”

Caleb goes to the first flavor at the end of the table. He takes a few deep breaths trying to center himself. Henry and Bryce and chatting down by the toppings, their sharp feelings poking him in the ribs. 

Other students start showing up, milling around chatting and getting in line for free ice cream. Caleb tries to focus on scooping the chocolate into bowls and passing them out. The line steadily grows and Caleb is bombarded with different emotions. The world is starting to tilt and Caleb just keeps scooping, hoping everyone will have their ice cream soon. 

A soft blue begins to clear Caleb’s head. Caleb looks up quickly, and sees Adam. Flapping picks up in his chest, and he smiles. Adam is quick to smile back, doubling the flapping feeling. “What flavor are you serving?”

“Oh!” Caleb looks down, he wasn’t paying attention before to notice. “It’s chocolate.”

“Sounds good. Load me up!”

Caleb passes him a bowl of ice cream. A sharpness slices his ribs from down the table. Caleb glances over and sees Henry and Bryce whispering and passing a flask between them. Oh, that's why the world is tilting.

“There aren’t many people left. Can you hang here with me?” 

“Sure thing.” Adam moves to the side. 

Caleb grips the scoop handle so his knuckles turn white. He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. 

"Caleb, you okay?" Adam's voice sounds far away. Adam shakes his shoulder when Caleb doesn't respond.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Caleb says slowly, trying not to slur as the world keeps moving.

Adam looks and sees the line is finally empty. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"But the ice cream-"

"It's over. Let's go back to the room." Adam pulls Caleb's arm. The flapping fills Caleb's whole body.

"Oh! Butterflies!" Caleb giggles.

"What?!" Adam stops and looks at Caleb.

"It's butterflies!"

"What's wrong? Are you drunk or something?"

"Henry and Bryce-"

"Ugh. Fuck them!" Adam starts leading Caleb again. "Let's get you dried out." 

"Hey Adam," Caleb giggles. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Can we get food first?" 

Adam rolls his eyes. "Sure."


	7. Silent Treatment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam and Caleb refuse to talk.

Chapter 7

Caleb

Six days. It's been six days since Adam last spoke to Caleb. Six days of Adam's soft blue emotions getting deeper and sharper. Six days since the disaster ice cream social. 

It hadn't taken long for the empathy drunk to wear off, and the hangover to set in. By the time Caleb and Adam got back to the room that night, Caleb skipped feeling normal (whatever that is) and went straight to exhausted. 

"Why did you do it, Caleb? I thought you were better than some brainless meathead! Is this why you've been fighting all semester? Don't you care about getting kicked out of school?" Adam kept questioning Caleb, not even waiting for answers.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Caleb had finally yelled, cutting off Adam's questions. They glared at each other across the room. 

Caleb dropped his eyes. "You wouldn't understand." Caleb whispered, then crawled into bed.

That was the last time they spoke. Every day since then, Adam's feelings would turn sharp. Caleb felt like he was swimming in broken glass anytime he was around Adam. 

Thankfully (or not), Caleb hadn't spent much time in his room the whole week. Practices were extending, getting ready for a big game against a team in a towns about 4 hours away. He even had to cancel his session with Dr. Bright. The team was excused from afternoon classes on Friday so they could make it to the game that night. 

Football games are a nice break for Caleb. Everyone feeling towards the same goal. Everyone's emotions high. Caleb gets to channel all his aggression and stress from the week into playing. It was a close game, but they managed to tie in the last quarter and win in overtime. 

Most of the team fell asleep about an hour into the bus ride back to school. Caleb kept himself awake, trying to relax into the quiet. He couldn't feel other people's emotions while they slept, and he barely had any alone time all week. Caleb tried to practice some of Dr. Bright's mediations while everyone slept so he could clear out his body and feel his own feelings.

Caleb's thoughts drifted back to Adam. He still couldn't believe it took Bryce and Henry getting publicly drunk for Caleb to realize the fluttering was butterflies. The kind you get when you  _ like _ someone. Now the question was who did they belong to? He couldn't be sure. And since Adam was so pissed at Caleb all week, he hadn't felt any butterflies. Maybe he imagined the whole thing? Maybe he was wrong and it was an entirely different feeling?

The bus pulled into campus just before 3am. They players slowly marched up to their rooms. Caleb barely had the energy to take off his shoes before crawling into bed. 

  
  


*****

Adam

Adam wakes up squinting from the too bright sunlight filtering through the blinds. He couldn't bother to get up and start the day or roll over to hide from the sun and try to sleep in. So he closed his eyes and waited for the sun to move.

  
  


*****

Caleb

Caleb trudged up the stairs in the dormitory to his floor after a quick breakfast and a team workout. He begged off when his teammates suggested a round of frisbee golf. Everyone was outside enjoying the good weather. Caleb just wanted to catch up on the sleep he missed on the bus last night. Head down, he walks down the hall to his door. A mist creeps around his shoes and Caleb feels heavy. He stops and looks for the source of the mist, exhaustion warring with adrenaline as he sees the mist is coming from under his door. Adam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I wanted this chapter to be longer, but it turns out trying to write about depression put me in a really unhealthy state of mind. I'm still not out of it, but I wanted to get what I had already written out.


End file.
